Digital Commons Network^™

The Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On The Human Resource Management Practices Of The American Auto Industry, Connor Bradley

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the human resource management practices of the American auto industry. The information used in this study was based on interviews with twelve employees from four different companies. For the sake on anonymity, the four companies were referred to as Auto, Dealer, Financial, and Marketing. The interview questions covered topics related to the potential changes made to human resource management practices such as workplace location, communications, talent acquisition and retention, employee training and development, employee engagement, workplace safety, labor relations, benefits and compensation, and …

“A Short History Of An Overlooked Genre: How And Why Horror Can Be An Effective Tool In A Classroom And For Creating Social Change”, Hunter King

Honors Theses

Horror as a genre tends to be overlooked by the public eye, especially when it comes to critical analysis and its value as literature or educational film. As a future English teacher, I have made it a mission to promote literacy, and horror has been a tool that has encouraged me to read, so I figured there must be some connection between the genre and the promotion of literacy. The thesis in whole is able to address why the horror genre tends to spark more interest in readers than other genres, highlighting that the genre is built to unite readers …

Age As A Moderator In The Relationship Between Coping Strategies And Well-Being During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Hailey Owens

Honors Theses

The COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with an increase in social isolation, which is correlated with a decrease in psychological well-being. Previous research has found that the coping strategies individuals use most frequently change with age. Previous research has also outlined the mental health benefits of positive coping strategies across age groups, but the appropriateness of various coping strategies for different age groups during pandemic conditions has not been explored. Using data collected in a 3-week period beginning in April of 2020, the current study explored the moderating effect of age on the relationship between coping strategies and psychological well-being. …

Candace Mcmurray Senior Jazz Voice Recital, Candace Mcmurray

Honors Theses

This senior jazz voice recital is aimed to convey the artistry that has blossomed from studying jazz music as a vocalist. The repertoire included in this recital spans music written as early as 1923 and as late as 2017 encompassing a wide variety of jazz styles to reflect all the different jazz eras as well as how other genres in those times have influenced those compositions. The recital includes ten songs with a variety of instrumentation that are aligned with the jazz idiom. Some songs include a typical jazz combo of voice, piano, guitar, bass, and drums while others also …

I Am Because You Are, Avree Gundersen

Honors Theses

As a performer, I am honored to be trusted with the message that each choreographer decides to share. It is important that I keep an open mind, body, and soul which allows me to be a versatile mover. I find that my passion for dance is rooted in the essence of community and in sharing the space and energy with those around me. This builds a mutual trust and understanding that dance allows us to be vulnerable with each other. From that state of vulnerability comes strength, challenges, healing, and curiosity. I find that when fully immersed in the authenticity …

Is The Zebrafish Speed Bump Mutant A Mutation In Wee1? And Is It A Complete Loss Of Function?, Nathania Karyadi

Honors Theses

Every cell has to undergo the cell cycle process before it can divide or differentiate. The cell cycle is an error-prone complex process where mutations could happen. This study aimed to characterize the nervous system and blood cells of the speed bump mutant in zebrafish. This study also aimed to do gene characterization of the wee1 CRISPR mutant. The speed bump mutant is due to a mutation in the wee1 gene. Lack of the wee1 gene will cause no Wee1 Kinase, which inhibits the MPF, causing cells to go into mitosis too early. To fulfill these objectives, this study used …

Teaching Kids About Media And Digital Literacy, Lauren Schuster

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Supporting Grandfamilies During The Covid-19 Pandemic: Federal Flexibility And New Funding, Ana Beltran

GrandFamilies: The Contemporary Journal of Research, Practice and Policy

The Covid-19 pandemic has elevated and heightened the challenges and inequities that grandfamilies face. Unlike parents, with automatic legal rights and responsibilities to the children, grandfamily caregivers are often left to navigate systems that impact them but do not understand them. Federal response to the pandemic began by perpetuating these existing challenges. The CARES Act failed to explicitly name grandfamilies for system support, and they and those who work with them had to individually advocate in local communities. Later in the response efforts, federal legislation specifically called out supports for grandfamilies by providing unique federal funding flexibilities for kinship navigator …

Kinship Care Programs: Effective Marketing And Outreach Build With Care And They Will Come!, Rolanda T. Pyle, Hattie L. Lucas, Denyse Variano

GrandFamilies: The Contemporary Journal of Research, Practice and Policy

A workshop entitled “Marketing Your RAPP to Effectively Reach Relative Caregivers” was developed and offered at the 2019 Brookdale Foundation Training Conference for professionals who work with kinship caregivers, or “Relatives as Parents Programs” (RAPP). The intention of this interactive brainstorming session was to give individual RAPP programs the opportunity to share and adopt proven effective methods to reach, attract, and enhance their own local or statewide caregiver programs. The attending group was comprised of over 50 individuals who operated RAPP programs that spanned the US. The three workshop facilitators (authors of this brief with 70 collective years of experience) …

Covid-19 Impact On The Hospitalization Rates For Eating Disorders, Jennifer Ess

Honors Theses

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact in a variety of ways. With the quarantine restrictions placed during this time, many individuals had turned to social media as an outlet to cope with the loss of intimate time with friends and outside family. This increase in social media use, especially Tik Tok and Instagram, can negatively impact a person's outlook on certain situations. Throughout this pandemic, mental health issues, specifically eating disorders, have shown a rise in cases during this time. Current research shows that numbers have more than doubled during pandemic times, and also shows many different factors that …

The Effect Of Estrogen On Gdnf Production Of Skeletal Muscle In Vitro, Hope Welter

Honors Theses

As life expectancy continues to rise, the number of people over age 65 in the U.S. is increasing. An aging population brings with it impacts on the national health system and associated economic expenditures. As individuals age, the skeletomuscular system suffers reduced function due to disease or conditions such as sarcopenia. Sarcopenia is characterized by muscular atrophy resulting from reduced muscle innervation. Exercise has been linked to prevention of sarcopenia, a suspected result of increased production of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF). GDNF promotes neuronal survival, regeneration, and the formation of neuromuscular junctions. Therefore, treatments like exercise that increase …

The Gibbs House: Visual Storytelling Through Brand Identity And Placemaking, Elizabeth Tran

Honors Theses

Managed by Western Michigan University’s (WMU) Office for Sustainability, the Gibbs House has a rich history of existing as the functioning university urban farm since the late 60s. Throughout the years, the location has transformed into a learning laboratory as well as a permaculture research and demonstration site for WMU students and the Kalamazoo community. As individuals scramble to come up with solutions to combat climate change, the two-acre plot becomes a vital resource where students are able to participate in sustainable practices that are both hands-on and outdoors. It pushes forward transformative ideas like composting, food forestry, and permaculture …

Teaching Language Variation In K-12 Schools, Samantha Phillips

Honors Theses

The language used in most classrooms throughout the United States is standard American English (SAE). Although this language is difficult to define, it is often perceived as the correct or proper usage of the English language. Students grow up learning that there is one correct way to speak and write, and consequently, they learn that any variation from this standard must be incorrect or improper. Student speakers of stigmatized variations of English face academic, social, and personal consequences such as poor academic performance, isolation from peers, and assimilation. The ideology that promotes SAE as correct also ignores the connection between …

Wmu Board Of Trustees Formal Session April 21, 2022, Wmu Board Of Trustees

WMU Board of Trustees Meetings

Acceptance of the Agenda
Approval of the Minutes (March 17th, 2022 Meeting)
Remarks by the Chair
Remarks by the President
Updates by the Faculty Senate President
Updates by the Western Student Association President
Updates by the Graduate Student Association President
Changing Lives through the Promise Neighborhoods Program
Public Comments Regarding Action Items

Action Items

• Michigan State Employees Association (MSEA) Labor Agreement
• Five Year State Capital Outlay Master Plan
• Approval of Real Property Lease for WMU Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine

Consent Items

• Curriculum Proposals
• Personnel Report
• One-Day Liquor License Application for June 18, 2022

General Public Comments

The Effects Of Covid-19 On Well-Being Of Healthcare Workers, Hannah Meissner

Honors Theses

The development of the new coronavirus disease, COVID-19, led to the spread of turmoil across the United States and further around the globe. With the virus creating uncertainty among the population, the evidence began to demonstrate that individuals could have devastating health effects, including death. Healthcare workers are among those who were on the frontlines in order to care for the infected, ultimately increasing their own chances of acquiring the virus and putting their health at risk. These workers have experienced a direct impact due to this exposure in the form of isolation, anxiety, depression, suicide, and sleep disturbances. With …

An Analysis Of The Extent To Which Responsible Technology Is Taught In R1 And R2 Research Universities In Michigan., Maisie Blaukamp

Honors Theses

Responsible technology development, use, and communication is crucial as technological innovations scale. An increasing topic of conversation in the technology and education industries is how to educate individuals to interact with technology in an ethical way, as harmful technologies and use of technologies are creating negative impacts on individuals, businesses, and society. This research examines the extent to which responsible technology is taught in major Michigan universities.

An analysis of courses and course descriptions at 8 R1 and R2 universities shows that there is a lack of responsible technology education in business colleges, courses teaching technology development, and courses teaching …

Ethical Monetization For Social Media Companies, Leo Phillips

Honors Theses

The most popular social media companies today all monetize primarily through the same revenue stream, advertising. Popular social media strategies have developed similar methods to increase the advertising revenue that each user generates. These strategies for monetization have become ever increasingly exploitative and harmful to the social media user population as these major companies are gripped in a technological arms race to capture as much of their user’s time and attention as possible. The effects of increased social media use are a general overall decline in our society’s physical, emotional, and social health (Haugen, 2021 & Harris, 2019). These health …

Litigating Reproductive Rights: The Evolving Support Structure In The United States, Allison Anker

Honors Theses

The Supreme Court of the United States functions as the highest judicial body in the country, with its decisions having the capability to reverberate change across the nation. Understanding why they make certain decisions has long been a point of scholarship, with multiple theories emerging as to what exactly influences their rulings. One such theory is the support structure, proposed by Charles Epp in The Rights Revolution (1998), which is a theory exploring how social movements influence litigation and the establishment of certain rights. This theory states that legal mobilization at the Supreme Court rests “on resources, and resources for …

Exercise Education Of Western Michigan University Students Who Use The University Recreation Center, Rachael Brewer

Honors Theses

According to the American College of Sports Medicine’s (ACSM) annual survey data, various modalities of resistance training are reported in the top 20 ways to exercise in 2022. According to the Nationwide Children’s Hospital, there has been a significant increase in acute care visits resulting from resistance training as it becomes more common to train without proper professional oversight (Nationwide Children’s Hospital, 2010). Many exercisers watch, replicate, or take advice from friends in the weight room; however, professional instruction is key for a safe workout experience. Injuries can and do occur on resistance machines, treadmills, and stair mills with little …

Factors Influencing Alcohol Use During Covid-19 With College Students, Nikki Davis

Honors Theses

The COVID-19 pandemic has had adverse mental health implications. Young adults have been identified as a particularly high-risk group for increased alcohol use during the pandemic (Capasso et al., 2021). Psychological distress, motives for drinking, experiential avoidance, COVID-19 related fears, and campus connectedness may all be factors related to drinking in college students; however, many of these factors have not been examined during COVID-19. The current study surveyed a sample of full-time, WMU college students (N = 235) who were 18 years old or older (M = 21.13, SD = 3.33). The majority of the sample identified as women (71.9%) …

Functional Cognition: An Opportunity To Highlight The Role Of Occupational Therapy In Post-Concussion Care, Rachel Taylor Postma, John V. Rider, Robyn Otty

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

As concern surrounding concussion and the associated long-term effects grow, a continued need for comprehensive, holistic concussion care emerges. Occupational therapists are well-equipped to address the wide variety of symptoms and deficits that clients may experience post-concussion. Functional cognition is one area in which occupational therapists can demonstrate their unique value on the interdisciplinary treatment team. In this Opinions in the Profession paper, we describe how occupational therapists are poised to further establish their role in post-concussion care by becoming the primary discipline for assessing and treating functional cognition. The aim of this paper is to outline the role of …

Women’S Self-Concept, Sexual Activity, And Intimacy After Sustaining A Traumatic Brain Injury, Erin Skotzke

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

A traumatic brain injury (TBI) can have a profound impact on how people think and feel about themselves and their abilities, values, goals, personalities, physical characteristics, and roles. Preliminary research findings suggest that barriers to developing a positive self-concept after injury in women include the desire to be perceived as “normal” after the injury or the feeling that society dismisses their injuries. In the field of occupational therapy, it is critical that therapists and researchers understand that self-concept can be altered after sustaining a TBI. This outcome can have a significant impact on participation in valued occupations, including participation in …

Supporting The Paternal Role And Transition Home From The Nicu: A Mixed Method Study, Bryana L. Salazar

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Background: Limited research has focused solely on fathers’ experiences following a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) stay. The study aimed to identify occupational therapy’s role in supporting paternal wellness and mental health through routines and occupations following discharge.

Methods: Online surveys (n = 32) and virtual interviews (n = 11) were collected to complete a mixed method design study. Interviews were manually transcribed and coded to perform thematic analysis.

Results: Five themes were identified: adjusting expectations, changes in priorities, the unexpected toll of the NICU, coping and healing, and fathers and health care providers. This study …

Anti-Deficit Perspectives On Institutional Diversity Efforts, Ej Edney

Assessment in Action Conference

Institutions of higher learning are central to preparing people to shape the world in which we live. Yet widening opportunity gaps evidence a need for structural change that increases access and improves outcomes for all students. It is important to consider the lens through which practitioners assess and address the unique challenges and opportunities of an increasingly diverse student population. This session will focus on developing anti-deficit approaches to providing the kinds of opportunities that help solve our most pressing DEI challenges.

Western Michigan University Magazine, Spring 2022, Western Michigan University

Western Michigan University Magazine (1997-present)

• College of Fine Arts at 5O
• An instrumental part of our history
• Wild for 'Woman'
• From spores to scores
• Bronco in the Big Apple
• Serving the ATVP-ically gifted
• Wonder Media: Ask the Questions!
• Catalyzing environmental justice
• Morean Center makes the mold
• University News
• Alumni Profile
• Classnotes
• In Memoriam

Supporting Informational Text Comprehension: One Educator’S Scaffolding During Instruction In Kindergarten, Nicole M. Martin

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Educators’ support when using informational text in kindergarten is foundational to children’s comprehension and future learning. Prior research has not offered clear insight into their help when children experience difficulties during informational text comprehension instruction. The current study examined one kindergarten educator’s support. Mrs. Swanson’s teaching was observed two to three times per week for 15 weeks, and lesson artifacts were collected. Discourse analytic coding procedures, constant comparison, and thematic analysis revealed that the educator consistently provided verbal scaffolding but inconsistently supported the individual children who were experiencing comprehension difficulty. An expanded focus on educators’ scaffolding at children’s points of …

The Status Of Phonics Instruction: Learning From The Teachers, Sherry Sanden, Deborah A. Macphee, Luminita Hartle, Stephen Poggendorf, Caleb Zuiderveen

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Increasingly alarmed by instructional mandates more founded on journalistic rhetoric and popular opinion than on research findings or practitioner expertise, researchers gathered survey data from teachers to better understand the status of K–2 phonics instruction. Data demonstrate that the overwhelming majority of these K–2 teachers teach phonics, rely on a published curriculum, and teach phonics in systematic and explicit ways. These findings contradict media assertions that reading classrooms are largely devoid of phonics instruction and that teachers fail to include phonics as an important element of their reading instruction. Implications include calls for researchers to explore what teachers can share …

“Pockets Of Hope”: Changing Representations Of Diversity In Newbery Medal–Winning Titles, Kathleen A. Paciga, Melanie D. Koss

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Newbery Medal–winning books provide cultural models for children’s developing cultural understandings of themselves and others. This article presents results of a critical content analysis that used sociocultural and historical lenses to examine representations of race/ethnicity, gender, and ability of main characters across the Newbery-winning corpus and how these representations have changed over the history of the award, 1922–2019. Findings present a lack of consistent diverse representation across all fields, with increased diverse representation in the most recent decades. The discussion contextualizes findings against historical events. Understanding the representations of diversity in these texts and the historical contexts within which such …

Responding To Literature Through Student–Author Interviews: Eighth-Grade Students Challenge Chris Crowe’S Mississippi Trial, 1955, Danielle L. Defauw, Chris Crowe, Christine Burnett

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

This study explores virtual, student–author interviews eighth-grade students led with Chris Crowe in response to his young adult novel Mississippi Trial, 1955. The opportunity to interview the author motivated students to read the novel. Through their text-world development, students connected with the fictional and nonfictional characters, Hiram Hillburn and Emmett Till, respectively. Through their critical reader-responses, students sought truth about Emmett Till’s case as they questioned Crowe about the choices he made as an author and researcher, which supported students’ understanding of character development and historical significance of Emmett Till’s case. Crowe’s answers to the students’ critical questions were …

Research Day 2022 Program, Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School Of Medicine

Research Day

No abstract provided.